Added 9 October 2026
courage
/ˈkʌɹ.ɪd͡ʒ/ noun
In Latin: fortitudo, virtus, animus Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about courage at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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The quality of being confident, not afraid or easily intimidated, but without being incautious or inconsiderate.
It takes a lot of courage to be successful in business.
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The ability to overcome one's fear, do or live things which one finds frightening.
He plucked up the courage to tell her how he felt.
- The ability to maintain one's will or intent despite either the experience of fear, frailty, or frustration; or the occurrence of adversity, difficulty, defeat or reversal; moral fortitude.
verb
Origin
From Middle English corage, from Old French corage (French courage), from Vulgar Latin *corāticum, from Latin cor (“heart”). Distantly related to cardiac (“of the heart”), which is from Greek, but from the same Proto-Indo-European root. Displaced Middle English elne, ellen, from Old English ellen (“courage, valor”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)